ThiefHott Too much of everything

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Rainey Dawn A really fun movie to watch and a super role for Basil Rathbone. Rathbone plays Sir Joel Cadman, a mad doctor of sorts, that wants to heal his wife of her brain tumor but the horrors he's caused to others in search of a cure for his wife is unspeakable. Expect a grand ending to story of John Cadman's chamber of horrors.The main focus here is on Basil Ratbone! John Carradine gets a small spotlight thrown on him, while Tor, Bela and Lon are mute but highly important characters to the film.This is great late night movie - easily a "dark and stormy night" film!9/10

MartinHafer Beginning is a bit like "The Man They Could Not Hang"--innocent man condemned to death is spared by his doctor friend. It also is a bit like "The Man Who Lived Again"--both are Boris Karloff films from the 1930s. So, if you have a sense of déjà vu, this might be why.The film stars Basil Rathbone and Herbert Rudley. Rudley has been falsely accused of murder and is about to be executed. His 'friend', Rathbone, gives him a potion to make him appear dead--then instead of burying him, Rathbone will use him as an assistant in his brain research. What Rudley doesn't realize is that this research is being done on live humans--humans that Rathbone renders unconscious with his 'black sleep' formula. Unfortunately, Rathbone's plans for Rudley aren't all that altruistic--tune in and find the evil truth.This film has lots of appearances very horror notables--though most are not very satisfying, as their roles were very, very small. Along for the ride are Akim Tamiroff in a very creepy role--and the most complex of the guest stars. As for Lon Chaney, Jr. and Bela Lugosi, both have thankless non-speaking roles and are rather wasted. And, out of the blue, John Carradine appears near the end of the film...and then overacts wildly. And, along for the ride with him is Tor Johnson--of Ed Wood fame. I liked seeing all these guys--I just wish the script had given them more to say and do. It's like a great opportunity somewhat squandered.The film is entertaining--mostly because the plot is quite good and has a few nice twists. Unfortunately, however, there are also some moments with LOTS of cheese--most notably Carradine's bizarre performance. But the good well outweighs the bad and is fun.

lastliberal Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney all in the same film. No matter what the films flaws, the presence of these three portends a film that will be worth watching.Add to that John Carradine (House of the Long Shadows), Tor Johnson (Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Beast of Yucca Flats), and Akim Tamiroff (For Whom the Bell Tolls, The General Died at Dawn). A fine supporting cast of horror characters.Loonies, religious nuts,mutants, dungeons. and exposed brain matter. A refreshingly intelligent premise and a completely deranged finale that comes out of nowhere.Well worth watching.

Scott_Mercer Wow, a movie with Bela Lugosi AND Tor Johnson, and it ISN'T an Ed Wood movie? Are you serious?YES! This movie has everything a fan of Gothic horror could ask for: creepy castle, mad scientist, British accents (from some of the actors) hidden passageways, grave robbing, mutants chained up in the dungeon, brain surgery on live victims, women chained against their will, the mute manservant, the dead-but-not-dead bride, etc. It's like a greatest hits of horror! This movie really is a fantastic, unheralded little gift, but by this time it looks like it has been somewhat rediscovered after many decades in obscurity, after being screened by TCM a few years ago. The film was made in a lull period for horror, especially Gothic horror stories of this type. Made in 1955, it was released in 1956.Hammer Films was a year away from beginning their great cycle of Dracula and Frankenstein films which reinvigorated the horror genre. Hollywood had grown tired of classic horror, giving a last gasp around 1945 with House of Dracula etc. By 1948 they were turned to spoofs to do anything at all with horror, turning out Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein (great) and films like like Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (crap) and several Bowery Boys horror themed productions (lovable crap). By 1955, invasions of flying saucers and giant insects were all the rage in fantastic filmmaking. Even the Creature From The Black Lagoon had more of a science fiction slant than horror.So to discover a respectable Gothic horror title from 1955 is quite a surprise for many film fans. Even if it is low budget.And let's not forget the cast, a great round-up of horror film icons. The only way this could have been better was to put Boris Karloff in the Basil Rathbone part (though Rathbone manages to be both ruthless and sympathetic in his part as Dr. Cadman, no mean feat for any actor), and Peter Lorre (as originally intended) in the part played very well by Akim Tamiroff. That would have REALLY been a horror film cast to end all horror film casts. But I can't complain, especially when ** SPOILER ALERT ** the climax of the movie rewards you with Tor Johnson strangling Lon Chaney Jr. to death while John Carradine beats Lon over the head with a staff! The climax of the movie is quite nutty, and quite enjoyable. A great find for horror buffs and a great way to spend 82 minutes, in spite of its somewhat low budget origins.And yes, this was Bela Lugosi's true last film role; Plan Nine From Outer Space, released later, features Lugosi in test footage shot with no particular movie in mind. Just a shame that here Bela was cast as a mute and had no lines. Same thing with Lon Chaney, but par for the course for Tor Johnson, who was much better off cast as a mute, as Tor's few lines of dialog in Plan Nine From Outer Space prove.